Luxury homes that embrace the beauty of nature normally conjure up images of mansions amidst lush green lands or azure waters. But Amangiri homes have redefined the market. In the dramatic desert wilderness of South Utah’s private canyons, these luxury homes have adopted ruggedness over posh.

Resort developer, the Canyon Group, based in Larkspur, California, wanted to build a home that blends seamlessly with the beauty of the wild desert (the word “giri” describes rock formations in Sanskrit). Each home built on sites ranging in size from 1.3 to 10 acres adopts earthen colored slabs and liberal use of glass.

Combining organic architecture that is stylistically simple and square with minimalist furnishing, the result is a spacious home that merge so well with its surroundings it almost seems like it was sculpted from the dunes.

Each villa incorporates a unique, signature arroyo meditation platform that overlooks the deserts’ beauty. Residents of Amangiri will also have access to amenities including world-class recreation, a full-service spa and an array of residential concierge services.

The 31 villas are scheduled to open in 2009. For their first phase, Canyon Group has already released eight villas for sale. The price in command? US$7 million.

www.villasatamangiri.com